The government has announced its proposal to increase statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental pay, and parental bereavement pay to £156.66 a week (an increase from the current rate of £151.97 a week). This would mean that where an employee meets the qualifying conditions for the payment(s):
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
First 6 weeks paid at 90% of normal weekly earnings, then 33 weeks at £156.66 (or 90% of normal weekly earnings if this is lower)
Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)
First 6 weeks paid at 90% of normal weekly earnings, then 33 weeks at £156.66 (or 90% of normal weekly earnings if this is lower)
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
£156.66 per week (or 90% of normal weekly earnings if this is lower)
Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
£156.66 per week (or 90% of normal weekly earnings if this is lower)
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP)
£156.66 per week (or 90% of normal weekly earnings if this is lower)
The government has also proposed to increase Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from £96.35 a week to £99.35 a week.
The rates will be confirmed once an order is made with changes coming into effect in April 2022. We will keep you updated regarding any developments, in the meantime if you have an employment law issue with which we can assist, please do not hesitate to contact Kingfisher Professional Services Ltd as we are happy to help.